US sanctions cost Iran $200 billion, says Rouhani

Tehran: Renewed U.S. sanctions have cost Iran $200 billion in foreign-exchange income and investment, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday.

Sanctions have deprived the Islamic Republic of $100 billion in oil revenue in the last two years and an equal amount in foreign investment credit, Rouhani said in a televised speech, according to his official website.

Earlier this month, he submitted a draft budget for the coming fiscal year designed to offset the impact of Washington’s “maximum pressure” policy on the Islamic Republic.

U.S. sanctions have led to record-low oil exports for Iran - traditionally the country’s largest source of foreign exchange earnings.

Bureaucrats in Tehran are earmarking steep increases in revenue from taxes, fees and penalties to try to compensate for the loss of crude earnings and faster inflation in the aftermath of protests around the country.